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FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick, in his usual demure tone, deflected question after question about the use of his new quarterback, Tim Tebow, in his first press conference in more than a month and a half.

Standing in front of a throng of media members from all across the East Coast, Belichick said the popular quarterback – who will wear No. 5 – will do whatever is best for the team.

"He's a talented player, who's smart and who works hard," Belichick said.

He repeated some variation of that over eight minutes before leaving for the first practice of Patriots minicamp.

The veteran coach gave no indication of what position Tebow would play outside of quarterback. The Patriots officially announced signing Tebow on Tuesday morning.

When asked about dealing with the popularity of Tebow, including dealing with the higher number of media members covering him, Belichick quipped, "hopefully there'll be more than that at the games on Sunday."

Also of note, Belichick said all players were present for minicamp. Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who appeared to suffer a shoulder injury during organized team activities, "will do what he can."

Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is expected to have surgery on his back in this month, has been in contact with the team, but the coach would not elaborate.